


But You Were Born to Be With Me

by Cat_McSwain_8



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, But mostly Marichat, F/M, Fluff and Angst, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Power of Friendship, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Sexual Tension, all sides of love square included, eventual identity reveal, ladrien, long fic, possibility of eventual smut but not smut story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24499441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat_McSwain_8/pseuds/Cat_McSwain_8
Summary: Over a year ago, Marinette finally gave up on Adrien and fell for Luka instead. But when Luka leaves Paris and Marinette finds herself single again, will her old feelings for her blonde friend resurface? Torn up over Luka's parting words, Marinette is determined  that she won't have anything to do with Adrien. But she forgot to worry about a certain green-eyed partner who is starting to realize just how amazing his Princess truly is.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chat Noir & Ladybug, Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chat Noir/Ladybug, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Comments: 69
Kudos: 184





	1. One Door Closes...

Seventeen months. Seventeen months with Luka and now… nothing.

Marinette stood in Luka’s room, watching as he finished packing up his last few things. Anarka and Juleka had gone for a walk to give the two of them some time alone—time to say goodbye.

“Are we doing the right thing?” Marinette asked.

Luka paused what he was doing and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for another hug. “We’ve talked about this. We both agreed that long-distance would be too hard.”

Marinette knew he was right, but it was so hard to say goodbye. Luka had been such a big part of her life.

Even if they weren’t breaking up, everything would still be changing. Luka had done what he needed to graduate from lycee a month early, and he was leaving to spend the summer touring with Jagged Stone. He hadn’t decided his plans for the fall, but Marinette knew he wouldn’t be coming back to Paris. Opening for Jagged was only the beginning for him and his new band. When he first got the offer from Jagged, he had asked Marinette if she would come with him—just for the summer. She had wanted to say yes. She had wanted that so bad. But they both knew she never could. Even with her parent’s permission, given she was only seventeen and still had another year of lycee ahead of her, she could never leave.

Paris needed Ladybug.

They had only been dating for two months when Luka discovered her secret. At first Marinette had panicked, knowing that it wasn’t safe for anyone to know. But this was _Luka_. He was one of the most trustworthy people she knew, and she trusted him with her life. And her secret. After coming around to the idea, she was grateful he had figured it out. Keeping secrets from her boyfriend had been so hard. It was hard enough keeping them from everyone else in her life.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” Marinette said, squeezing him tighter.

“I’ll miss you too. But you know I’ll still be there for you, Marinette. I will never stop being your friend. I’m only a text or phone call away.”

“How are you so perfect?”

He laughed softly and pulled away to look her in the eyes. “I had this amazing girlfriend who was a great influence on me.”

Marinette’s eyes filled with tears again. She couldn’t do this.

Luka sighed. “I know we only have a few minutes until I need to leave, but there’s something else I need to say.”

What was he talking about? She looked at him in confusion as he led her over to his bed and sat down next to her.

“Marinette, you’re still clear as a note, sincere as a melody. You’re the song that’s been playing in my head since I met you, and that song will never really stop. You and your song will be with me always.”

He hesitated for a moment. Marinette wanted to say something—to tell him she felt the same—but she could tell he wasn’t done.

“This past year and a half has been amazing. You are the bravest, most incredible girl, and I wouldn’t trade our time together for anything.”

“Me neither, Luka.”

He smiled, and Marinette wondered why it seemed so sad.

“More than anything, Marinette, I want you to be happy. I wasn’t your first choice back then, and—”

Marinette gasped. “No, Luka, don’t say that.”

“Please, Marinette. Let me finish.”

She bit her lip and nodded.

“I wasn’t your first choice, but that doesn’t matter. I’m so grateful he didn’t realize what an amazing girl he was missing out on. That meant I got to be with you, and you’ve made me so happy. But Marinette, I want you to know that it’s okay if you move on. You don’t owe me anything, and I want you to be happy. If that means being with him, then I want you to do that.”

Marinette leaned back as though he had physically slapped her. Was he really saying what she thought he was? She felt sick to her stomach at the implications of his words. It made her feel like these last seventeen months had meant nothing. Had been nothing. Did Luka really think she had been hung up on Adrien this whole time?

“You don’t mean that. You can’t tell me you want me to date _Adrien_.”

“I want you to be happy. You’ve liked him for so long. I think he could make you happy.”

She stood up suddenly. “I’ve liked _you_ for so long. _You_ made me happy. How could you say all this? I thought you knew how much I cared about you. I thought you trusted me.”

Standing up to face her, he reached out to grab her hands, but she pulled away. “Of course I trust you.”

He was prevented from saying anything more by the alert that sounded on both their phones.

An akuma attack. Of course.

“I can’t do this right now,” Marinette said, backing up another step.

“I know. Go. The city needs you.”

Marinette felt her heart break as she turned her back on him and moved to his bedroom door. When she reached it, Luka spoke again.

“Marinette?”

She didn’t bother to hide the tears streaking her face as she looked over her shoulder at him, one last time.

He gave her a sad smile. “Be careful, okay?”

A sob tore from her as she ran away.

\---

Hawk Moth didn’t care that her heart was breaking. He didn’t care that she felt like her entire world was collapsing. The akumas _never stopped_.

By the time she had found a place to transform, she had sealed away her emotions. Paris needed her. She would worry about Luka later—about the terrible guilt she felt at his words.

Chat Noir was already there, facing down the akuma. It looked like the personal trainer of nightmares, wielding his gym bag as he fired out various exercise equipment. Chat deflected a resistance band before turning to smile up at her.

“Hey, Bugaboo! Puuurr-fect timing.” She tried to crack a smile. When she failed to, Chat’s face fell, and he lost his focus.

“Chat!”

Her warning had him turning, _barely_ missing the 20-lb dumbbell that had been coming right at his head. Now Marinette was mad. No one was allowed to hurt her partner on her watch.

The fight was quick, despite Marinette’s distraction, and it was only a few minutes later that her Miraculous Ladybug was thrown into the air, fixing everything. The very second the problem was over, all of Marinette’s feelings came crashing back over her.

“Pound it?”

Marinette didn’t even hear him.

A hand touched her shoulder gently. “My Lady?”

She turned to face her partner then, taking in his extended arm. She tried for another smile, once again failing. While she did manage to lift her arm, completing their traditional fist bump, her heart clearly wasn’t in it.

Now that the threat was over, civilians had started to come out of the surrounding buildings and make their way towards the superhero duo. Chat understood that his partner wasn’t in any state to deal with interviews or adoring fans, so he turned to the approaching people and offered a wide smile.

“Ladybug and I have somewhere we need to be. Have a _miraculous_ day.”

Without another word, he wrapped an arm around her waist and extended his baton, shooting them into the air. Normally Marinette would resist this kind of high-handed behavior, but she simply didn’t have it in her today.

Once they landed on the roof, he released her. “Meet at our normal spot? We should have at least another ten minutes.”

Numbly, Marinette nodded. She left first, with Chat following close behind her. As soon as they reached their roof, Marinette walked over to the edge and sat down, her legs dangling. Chat sat down right next to her.

“What’s wrong, My Lady?”

Her only answer was to burst into tears. She turned to him and he pulled her in, holding her tightly as the sobs racked her body. Marinette had needed this. She needed her best friend—the partner she had fought side by side with for four long years. It didn’t matter that they still didn’t know their civilian identities. Marinette knew him in all the ways that mattered. And he knew her.

Her earrings beeped, signaling the five-minute warning. After all these years, they could hold their transformations longer than in the beginning, but today it still wasn’t enough.

Marinette took several deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down and the tears to stop. Once they did, she pushed herself away from Chat.

“Thanks, Kitty. I needed that.”

This time she did manage a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Can I help in any way?” Chat asked.

“You already did. Thank you.”

Her earrings beeped again, and she knew they were out of time.

“Call if you need me, My Lady.”

“Always.”

She left, leaving her worried Kitty behind.


	2. Picking Up the Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette seeks comfort from Alya. The two best friends talk through Luka's words and Marinette makes an important decision.

After detransforming in an alley near her house, Marinette took a few minutes to compose herself. If she went home in this state her parents would be horrified. They knew she went to say goodbye to Luka, so a little sadness was to be expected, but _this_ would worry them.

Tikki sat on her shoulder, remaining silent but letting Marinette know she was there for her.

Once she was ready, Marinette pulled out her phone and sent a text to her other best friend.

_Can you come over? I need some BFF time._

She didn’t wait for a response. Tikki went back into the purse, and Marinette stepped out of the alley and finally approached the bakery front doors. Smiling at her parents, both busy with customers, she slipped past them. As Marinette expected, her mother immediately followed.

“How are you doing?”

Letting a little bit of her emotions show, Marinette shrugged her shoulder and gave her mom a watery smile. Sabine didn’t hesitate as she pulled her daughter into a hug.

“I know it’s hard now, but you’ll be okay. _You will be_.”

“Thanks, Maman. I think Alya is going to come over. Can you send her up?”

“Of course. I love you, honey.”

Marinette kissed her mom’s cheek. “I love you too.”

Up in her room, Marinette threw herself on her bed, facedown. Tikki flew out of her purse and came up to nuzzle her cheek. Her little friend had given her some time to process things herself, but now they needed to talk it out.

“Your mom is right, Marinette. You’ll be okay.”

“How could he say those things, Tikki? Does he really think the last seventeen months together meant nothing?”

“Oh, Marinette. I’m sure he didn’t mean that. He doesn’t think that.”

“Yes, he does. Otherwise he never would have said those things about Adrien. I’m _over_ him. I have been since I started dating Luka.”

Instead of offering more words of comfort, Tikki remained silent. The kwami knew that it was more complicated than that. She understood that Marinette _believed_ she was over him, but deep down they both knew that there were still some lingering feelings. Feelings that didn’t negate what Marinette had felt for Luka, but feelings nonetheless.

Their discussion was interrupted by the sound of Alya’s approach. Tikki flew off to hide as Alya flung open the trapdoor.

“Girl, are you okay?”

Marinette lifted herself up enough to look over the bed at her friend below. At the sight of Alya’s concerned expression, Marinette dissolved into tears again.

“Oh no, girl. This won’t do.”

Alya dropped the bags she had been carrying and hurried over, scrambling up to Marinette’s bed. She crawled in next to her friend and wrapped an arm around her, holding her as she cried. Eventually Marinette’s sobs quieted and Alya sat up.

“Come on. I brought supplies.”

Reluctantly, Marinette let Alya drag her down. Her reluctance faded as she took in the two cartons of ice cream Alya had brought. Smiling through her tears, Marinette threw her arms around her friend’s neck.

“What would I do without you? You’re the best friend a girl could ask for.”

“I know. I really am. Now sit down and tell me what happened. It’s clear this is about more than just Luka leaving. You knew that was coming.”

Marinette sniffled. “It’s more.”

“You know what? Let’s go up on the balcony. Some fresh air would probably do you some good.”

Agreeing, Marinette helped Alya take the two bags of ice cream and other treats up through the skylight. Once they were settled in their respective chairs, a carton and spoon in each of their laps, Marinette turned to her friend.

“Luka said… he said that now that’s leaving, I’m free to date Adrien. He said that I’ve liked Adrien for so long and it’s okay for me to move on. To Adrien.”

Alya’s mouth dropped open. “He did _not_.”

“He did.”

“That idiot! How could he say such a thing to you? That’s basically saying ‘I know you’ve secretly been in love with someone all the time we’ve been dating.’ Not cool, Luka.”

Marinette pointed her spoon at her friend. “Exactly! That’s exactly it. At first I thought maybe I was overreacting, but you’re right. It’s exactly that. It makes me feel like he never trusted me and that this last year and a half meant nothing to him. Not really.”

“Oh Mare, I’m sorry. It was a crap thing to say, but I’m sure he didn’t really mean it. He wasn’t thinking.”

“No, he was. He was so _serious_ about it. You know how he gets.”

Alya nodded, knowing exactly what Marinette meant. The boy was so calm and deliberate in everything he did, and this would be no different.

“What did you say when he said those things?” Alya asked.

“I told Luka that _he_ was the one I cared about. And that I thought he trusted me.”

Marinette’s shoulders drooped. She was just so tired.

“And? What did he say to that?”

“Nothing, really. There was—well, it was time for him to leave. And that was it.”

Alya set the ice cream aside and stood up. Hands on her hips, she looked down at her friend.

“Well, if he’s going to say something as idiotic as all that, he isn’t worth your time anyways.”

“But Alya, this is _Luka_.”

“And you’re _Marinette._ You are worth a thousand Lukas. Trust me, I’m a reporter and I know things.”

Marinette couldn’t help but smile at that.

Alya continued. “Tonight we’ll eat ice cream and cry or whatever else you need to do to get Luka out of your system. But starting tomorrow, you are _moving on_. Regardless of the stupid stuff he said today, you felt good about this break up. It was the right choice. You knew it yesterday and you need to remember it now. And girl, we are going to find you an even better boyfriend.”

“Not possible.”

Sighing in exasperation, Alya plopped down on the edge of the chair next to her friend.

“I’ll let you get away with those kindsof comments tonight, but that’s it. I mean it, Mare. Tomorrow is a new day.”

Marinette thought about everything Alya had said. Luka’s words still hurt—just thinking about them made her want to cry again—but Alya had made a really good point. This morning she had woken up knowing that her relationship with Luka would be ending. The exact way it played out was different than she expected, but it was still the outcome she had been prepared for. No matter how much it hurt, she needed to move on.

“But not with Adrien,” she said, not even realizing she’d finished the thought out loud.

“What?”

Marinette explained. “You’re right. About all of it. I need to move on—but not with Adrien.”

The look on Alya’s face told Marinette that she wasn’t going to like her friends next words, even before Alya herself made that clear.

“Don’t hate me for saying this—and again, I am 100% with you on the whole Luka should not have said that thing—but why not Adrien?”

Marinette scowled at her friend. Alya only sighed.

“You seriously think I should date _Adrien?_ ” Marinette asked, her annoyance clear in every word. “You want me to go back to the bumbling, awkward girl I used to be around him?”

“Of course not! You wouldn’t.”

“That’s right. I absolutely would not. If there’s one thing I learned from my time with Luka, it’s that I’m better than that. No one is ever going to make me feel as insecure as I used to feel around Adrien.”

“I am so here for all that, girl. But you’re not like that with him anymore. You haven’t been since you first started dating Luka. Honestly, one of the best things about you dating Luka was that you finally stopped putting Adrien on a pedestal and saw him for the flawed, everyday person he really is. That’s why we all became such good friends.”

Alya was right. If you’d asked her yesterday, Marinette would have easily said that Adrien was one of her closest friends. But now? After her talk with Luka? Even the thought of being _friends_ with Adrien caused a sick feeling in her stomach.

“You already know you two get along,” Alya pointed out. “And you know he hasn’t really dated anyone seriously since the whole Kagami thing—which wow, what a mess that turned out to be.”

That had Marinette smiling. Her two friends had only dated for a couple months before realizing they were better off as only friends. It probably wouldn’t have even lasted that long if it hadn’t been for both their parents encouraging the relationship.

“Speaking of Kagami, did you see her text about next Friday?”

Marinette nodded. “Isla’s end of school party. They do realize we still have two more weeks after that, right?”

“Who cares? The party is going to be awesome! Those two throw the best parties.” Alya laughed. “Who would have ever thought we’d be saying that about _Kagami_. She always seemed so straight-laced.”

“Isla’s been good for her.”

She really had. They were much better suited than Adrien and Kagami.

Adrien.

Marinette sighed again.

Picking up on the change in mood, Alya stood up. “Ice cream and movie time?”

Smiling, Marinette nodded. But as they watched the movie, two thoughts kept going through Marinette’s head. The first one made her sad and she kept pushing it away. But the second one? She was completely on board with it.

_Not with Adrien._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone's getting ready for things to start heating up - both literally and figuratively. ;)


	3. Something's off about her...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien worries not only about His Lady but about his friend.

Why did it always have to be Mondays?

The truth was, Adrien understood why. Mondays were the worst. He hated coming off the weekend as much as the next person, so he got why Monday mornings were prime akumatizing time.

But still – _why did it always have to be Mondays?_

Between a presentation at school and his worry over Ladybug, he had enough on his mind. He really didn’t need to deal with an akuma first thing too.

To his surprise, Ladybug was already on site when he arrived. He was almost always the first to arrive at the Monday morning akuma fights. If four years had taught him anything about his partner, it was that she was _not_ a morning person.

But as he took in her appearance, his mind shifted to other matters. While not looking as broken as she had the day before, she still looked…wrong. This wasn’t the Ladybug he was used to seeing. Instead of her confident and determined stance, she just looked _tired_. Had whatever was bothering her yesterday kept her up all night? Was that why she was here before him?

“I could use some help here, Chat!”

At least some things about her would never change.

Grinning, he jumped into the action. Today’s akuma was…surprising. While Ladybug had managed to deflect all of the akumas shots, the same couldn’t be said for the surrounding civilians. It looked like the akuma had caused their hair to grow—and grow and grow. People were running around in confusion, tripping over the hair that hung over their faces and went well past their feet.

“Well, _hair_ we are again, My Lady.” He jumped to avoid the bolt of energy the akuma had shot out of her hairdryer.

Rolling her eyes, Ladybug avoided another attack.

“Let me fix your hair!” The hairdresser-turned-akuma’s voice was shrill. “Once you all have perfect hair, I can finally _sleep in._ ”

The two superheros exchanged a glance.

“Seriously?” Ladybug asked. “Sometimes I wonder why Hawkmoth even bothers.”

Stomping her foot angrily, the akuma increased her attacks.

“First I’ll fix your hair. Then you’ll give me your miraculous.”

Unable to think while dodging the attacks, Chat and Ladybug dove for cover behind a parked car.

“She may be ridiculous, but this is still a _hairy_ situation.”

This time, Ladybug didn’t even bother to roll her eyes. Deciding it was past time to end this, she used her yo-yo.

“Lucky Charm!”

They both looked at the object in her hands—a candlestick of all things—before Ladybug examined their surroundings.

“Got it! Chat, can you provide the distraction?”

Grinning, he nodded. “It’s what I do best.”

As he left the safety of the car, he started yelling comments to the akuma. Ladybug found herself smiling. If anyone could annoy an akuma—or anyone really—it was Chat.

“Hey, mind if I _comb_ over there? We can braid each others’ hair.”

“Give me your miraculous!”

“I _hair_ what you’re saying, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Once she knew the akuma was sufficiently distracted, Marinette snuck from her sheltered spot and put her plan into action. In no time at all, the battle was over.

“Pound it.”

The grateful citizens once again tried to come over and express their gratitude to their heroes. This time, both Ladybug and Chat smiled at them before apologizing, explaining that they had to go.

Adrien really didn’t want to be late to homeroom again.

But he was. Of course. It wouldn’t be a normal Monday morning if he wasn’t.

He gave the teacher another one of his lame excuses, knowing he needed to come up with some new ones. There were only so many times he could get away with having a last-minute photoshoot before people started asking questions. Honestly, he was surprised it had lasted this long.

Alya, the only one of his close-knit group of friends in his class, caught his eye and shook her head in exasperation. A minute later, his phone dinged and he pulled it out carefully, making sure the teacher didn’t notice.

_You’re as bad as Marinette. I know Mondays blow, but it’s not THAT hard to be on time._

He looked over and shot Alya a grin, shrugging his shoulders, before slipping his phone back in his pocket and pretending to listen to the teacher. But he didn’t hear a single thing she said. Instead, his mind was back on Ladybug. While she’d been _acting_ normal, he’d seen enough to know that she still wasn’t okay.

In all the years that they had been partners, he had only seen her break down a handful of times. She was always so strong and fearless, and it hurt something deep inside him on those rare occasions he saw just how vulnerable she was. He had pushed his feelings for her back into a corner— _way_ back since she had a boyfriend and all—but that didn’t mean he had stopped caring. He would never stop caring. This was _his Lady_.

Lunch finally arrived, and he took a quick detour to the restrooms before meeting up with his friends. When he spotted them, Nino, Alya, and Marinette were already seated together. The sight was so normal, and so familiar, that some of the stress he’d been feeling slipped away.

That didn’t last.

“Hey, guys.”

Nino and Alya both returned the greeting, but Marinette remained focused on her food.

“Hey, Marinette,” he said, thinking she hadn’t heard him.

When she turned to face him, he saw something he’d never seen before on her face. At least, he’d never seen it when she looked at him.

“What do you want, Adrien?”

Her words were so clipped, her tone so cold, that Adrien flinched. Alya and Nino both stared in shock.

A heartbeat later, the angry expression on Marinette’s face crumpled and her apology came out in a rush.

“I’m so sorry, Adrien. That was so rude of me. It’s just been a rough morning. I’m sorry.”

Adrien smiled, telling her it was fine and he understood. But he didn’t. While he wasn’t mad, and had already forgiven her, he felt sure there was more to it. His suspicions were only proven right when Marinette spent the rest of the day barely speaking a word to him. She was never rude—not like she had been before—but she wasn’t acting like Marinette.

When they were all getting ready to leave for the day, Marinette and Nino walked ahead of them, talking about some new album that had come up. Adrien leaned closer to Alya, lowering his voice.

“What’s going on with Marinette?”

Alya frowned, looking at their friend’s back in concern.

“It’s complicated.”

“You can’t tell me any more than that?”

Alya shook her head and increased her pace so she could catch up to her boyfriend and best friend.

If no one would tell him what was going on, how was he supposed to fix it? He hated the idea of Marinette being upset with him.

Suddenly he smiled. Maybe no one would tell _Adrien_ , but a certain black cat might have better luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading so far! And thanks for the comments. :) Love hearing from you all! 
> 
> Things are gonna start picking up now! Let the Marichat begin.


	4. Am I a Terrible Person?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir visits Marinette to try and get some answers.

It wasn’t until Chat Noir was almost to Marinette’s house that he thought about just how long it had been since he had stopped by. Two months? Maybe three? All in all, he’d only visited her a handful of times, so it wasn’t like his absence had been out of the ordinary.

As her house came into view, he smiled. It looked like his usual bad luck was absent tonight. Marinette was sitting outside, sketching, when he landed softly on her balcony.

“Evening, Princess." He winced. “Sorry, I meant Marinette. I forgot.”

Genuinely happy to see her partner, Marinette smiled over at him. Then his words seemed to register, and she sighed.

“You can call me whatever you want. Luka and I broke up, so I don’t feel as weird about the nickname anymore.”

On the one hand, Adrien was thrilled that he’d been here less than a minute and he had already learned what must have been bothering her earlier. But on the other hand, he felt like a terrible friend for having not realized it before. He’d known that Luka would be leaving town soon, and he’d known that they had agreed to end things rather than try long-distance, so why hadn’t he put it together earlier?

“Sorry to hear that, Princess. Are you doing okay?”

Marinette closed her sketchbook and put it to the side. Chat Noir had her full attention now.

“Yes and no. I knew it was coming. We decided weeks ago that we didn’t want to try doing long-distance, so I’ve had time to get used to the idea. It still hurts though. I still miss him. And… well, it’s a little more complicated than all that.”

Adrien wished he could give Marinette a big hug, but her and Chat weren’t on that good of terms. The truth was, he couldn’t even remember the last time just the two of them had carried on a conversation. The last few times he’d stopped by, Luka had been over.

The first time, he had stopped specifically _because_ he saw Luka was over. He was out on patrol, and he was curious. Marinette and Luka had only just started dating, and he’d been too wrapped up in his own doomed relationship with Kagami to have spent any real time with the couple. Maybe it was wrong, but he wanted to see their dynamic. He wanted to see how his two friends were getting along. Marinette had introduced Chat Noir to her boyfriend, and the three of them had hit it off.

The next time, Adrien had been having a terrible night. He didn’t even remember why anymore, but he had left his house fuming over something his father had said. He hadn’t planned on going to Marinette’s, but when he saw Marinette and Luka out on the balcony, he hadn’t been able to resist. That time Marinette had brought up macarons for them, and Luka had played some songs on his guitar. It was right around the time that Adrien had realized his relationship with Kagami wasn’t going anywhere.

Adrien hated to admit it, even now, but he’d been so jealous of the way Marinette had beamed when Luka played “Marinette’s Song.” Kagami had never beamed at him like that.

Him stopping by didn’t become a habit, but it happened enough times that Adrien had grown used to seeing the couple's happiness. Mostly. Though now that he thought about it, his own lack of love life might have been the reason it had been so long since he’d last visited them. It was hard enough seeing it during their civilian lives. Nino and Alya, Marinette and Luka. Adrien hated being the only single one.

“I’m sorry, Princess,” he said, pushing away those thoughts. “Even when you know it’s the right choice, it’s never easy to end a relationship. And you two dated for so long.”

Pulling her knees up to her chest, Marinette rested her chin on her legs.

“It really isn’t. Easy, I mean.”

Her next words were mumbled. If Chat didn’t have his superhero senses, he wasn’t sure he would have heard them.

“Especially since he didn’t even trust me.”

Chat straightened. He hadn’t expected her to say something like _that_.

“What do you mean he didn’t trust you?”

Blushing, Marinette shook her head. It reminded him of how Marinette used to be around him. Back before they’d become better friends and she’d stopped feeling so nervous around him. He never did understand why he’d intimidated her in the first place. If anyone had cause to feel intimidated, it was him. Marinette was way cooler than him.

“It’s complicated, Chat. I don’t want to go into it.”

“I understand. But if you need someone to talk to, I’m _paw_ -lways available.”

As expected, Marinette rolled her eyes. But to Adrien’s relief, she seemed pleased by his words. Adrien hadn’t thought about what he was saying, and for a moment he panicked, worrying that he was overstepping some sort of line.

It was hard sometimes to remember where Adrien’s relationships with Marinette ended and where Chat’s began.

“Thanks, Chat. I’ll remember that.”

When she bit her lip, Adrien knew she had something more to say.

“Actually, can I ask you a question?”

“ _Paw-_ lways.”

Marinette scowled. “No puns allowed for the next five minutes.”

Chat bowed dramatically. “As the Princess wishes.”

Before speaking again, Marinette turned her face away, and Adrien understood this question would be hard for her to ask.

“Chat, do you think I’m a terrible person?”

It was wrong—so wrong—but he laughed. Marinette’s head whipped towards him, hurt shining on her face, and Adrien instantly sobered.

“I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just— _of course_ I don’t. You’re one of the best people I know.”

That blush touched her cheeks again.

“Do you really mean that?”

“Of course! If it weren’t for My Lady, you would win. Without a question.”

Marinette’s smirk had Adrien smiling in response.

“That’s quite the compliment.”

“I meant every word. Now, Princess, do you want to explain why you would ask such a ridiculous question?”

All the humor faded from Marinette’s expression.

“Not tonight.” She stood up. “I should probably be getting to sleep anyways. And you should go finish your patrol or whatever.”

That had been enough deep talk for tonight. Adrien wouldn’t push it.

“The Princess is correct. I will bid you farewell.”

Adrien was happy to see a genuine smile fill Marinette’s face once more. “Goodnight, Chat.”

“Goodnight, _Purrr_ -incess.”

Later, as Adrien landed back in his room and called off his transformation, he realized something important. A question he hadn’t gotten the answer to.

While tired and a little less bubbly than normal, Marinette had interacted with Alya and Nino just fine. It was only Adrien that she had seemed to have a problem with.

If Marinette was upset over Luka leaving, what did Adrien have to do with that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone! Trying to decide what kind of posting schedule I have - weekly, daily, or every couple days. Once I decide what I can realistically stick to, I'll try to be more consistent!


	5. Operation Get Marinette a Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya has big plans for Marinette

“It’s not Adrien’s fault.”

Marinette repeated the sentence under her breath one last time as she approached the school. After Chat left the night before, Marinette and Tikki had a long talk. Well, in all honesty, it was less of a talk and more of a lecture delivered by the small kwami. Although she’d been reluctant to admit it, Marinette knew Tikki was right. She needed to get her feelings under control instead of taking them out on Adrien. He really was blameless.

When she caught sight of Adrien and Nino standing just outside the school doors, her determination was tested. Seeing him had her insides knotting up again, with Luka’s words repeating in her mind.

Realizing that, she only became more determined. Adrien was one of her _best friends_. Just because Luka was a complete idiot it didn’t mean Adrien should suffer. Marinette might need a little bit of time to recover from the wounds inflicted by Luka’s words, but neither Adrien nor anyone else needed to see that.

“Hi Adrien! Hi Nino!”

Both boys smiled in greeting.

“Hey Marinette,” Adrien said. “How was your night? Did you get all your homework done?”

She groaned. “Sort of. That physics homework was brutal, and I’m sure I did it all wrong.”

“I can take a look at it if you want?”

Ignoring any other feelings, Marinette only allowed herself to feel gratitude for the offer. “Thanks, Adrien. I would appreciate that.”

“Dude, would you look at mine too?”

All three of them laughed before Marinette and Nino pulled out their papers and handed them to Adrien. They walked in the building and over to a corner, only a few minutes left before classes would start. Marinette had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t even realized that she was _early_ for once. Good day for it though. How else would Adrien have been able to help her?

Alya joined them soon after. When she found out what Adrien was looking at, she started complaining about how she wished she’d gotten there sooner so Adrien could look at hers too. But unfortunately for her, the warning bell sounded, and they had to part their separate ways. As he handed back the two assignments, Adrien didn’t have any feedback for Marinette, but he did point out an error on Nino’s paper.

Feeling a little better about things—both her physics homework and her friendship with Adrien—Marinette happily walked to her homeroom. The sight of Chloe sitting in her seat next to Marinette’s only brightened her mood further. Sometimes this positive reaction to Chloe still surprised her. For years, seeing the rich girl would instantly sour Marinette’s mood, knowing nasty comments would be coming her way.

But something had happened to Chloe last year—something that Marinette still didn’t know about. Whatever it was, it had changed to Chloe. Marinette had been so worried about Chloe after the Miracle Queen disaster, but whatever the mystery event had been, Marinette was grateful for it.

“Did you see the new Damien Champs collection that dropped last night?” Marinette asked as she settled into her seat.

Chloe rolled her eyes. “It was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. The man can’t design anything anymore.”

“I don’t know. I really liked the yellow dress.”

“Fine. That one was somewhat decent.”

It was fun to finally have someone to talk about fashion with. Marinette could talk about it with Adrien, of course, but that was different. He was a boy, a model, and _Gabriel Agreste’s son_. It wasn’t the same. Having a friend to talk fashion with was definitely one of the bigger perks of her new and improved friendship with Chloe.

As they were leaving homeroom, Marinette asked Chloe if she wanted to join the group for lunch. Chloe declined, saying she had other plans, but promised she’d join sometime that week.

Once Alya started the convesation at lunch, Marinette was feeling really grateful Chloe _hadn’t_ come. The last thing she needed was two of her friends ganging up on her.

“Come on, Mare! We need to get you back out there! Luka’s gone and things with him are over. You need to find someone new.”

“Geez, Al,” Nino said, shaking his head. “You could be a little less harsh.”

Alya sighed. “My girl is awesome, and I want her to be happy. Letting her sit around, moping over Luka, isn’t going to make her happy.”

“Alya, I don’t need a new guy to be happy. I’m still a little sad over Luka—and I have _every_ right to be since he’s only been gone a few days—but I will be fine. I can be happy all on my own.”

That only had Alya sighing again. “Girl, I know. You absolutely don’t need a man to be happy, but it sure doesn’t hurt.”

All four of them laughed at that, and Adrien finally joined in the conversation.

“Mari’s right. Luka just left and moving on takes time. She’ll find someone new when she’s ready.”

Marinette smiled at him, grateful for the support. When he smiled back, her smile slipped the tiniest bit. None of this was Adrien’s fault, and she would _not_ punish him for it, but she still needed time before she was ready for things to be completely normal between them.

“Okay, fine,” Alya conceded. “Marinette can have some time. As in the rest of this week. Because on Sunday, we are going _out_ on the town and we are going to find you a new man. Operation Get Marinette a Boyfriend is on.”

Groaning, Marinette put her arms on the table, dropping her head on them. Her friend was not taking no for an answer.

\----

That night, Ladybug met Chat for their joint patrol. It was her first time seeing him since her meltdown, other than the Monday morning akuma fight. But since they’d both been pressed for time that morning, they hadn’t spoken outside of the usual banter during the fight.

Marinette knew that Chat was going to ask about what had upset her on Sunday, and she was nervous. She didn’t know how to explain because she couldn’t decide how much she wanted him to know. She knew she couldn’t tell him that she’d ended things with her boyfriend because that was too close to Marinette’s own situation, of which Chat was all too aware. Besides, while she thought Chat had gotten over his crush on her, she didn’t want to give him any ideas.

So what _could_ she tell him?

“Good evening, My Lady.”

Chat landed softly next to her, grinning just as widely as he always did on these patrols.

“You too, Chat. Where do you think we should patrol tonight?”

She hoped the question would keep him too preoccupied to ask her any questions, but her plan didn’t work.

“Wherever My Lady wants. But first, I thought we might talk for a bit.”

Sighing, Ladybug walked over and sat on the edge of the roof. When Chat sat next to her, it felt eerily similar to what had happened on Sunday, and she realized she probably should have stayed standing for this.

“I’m fine, Chat,” she said, answering the question before he could ask.

“Are you sure? You do seem a lot better than before, but you still seem… sad.”

“It’s just been a rough couple of days. Something happened on Sunday that I do _not_ want to talk about, but it’s over now. I’m moving on and getting over it. I just need a little more time.”

Chat stared at her, as though trying to see for himself that she was okay. Then he nodded.

“I get that,” he said. “Mar—I mean, one of my friends is in a similar situation. Some things just take time.”

Marinette knew he’d been about to say her name. It warmed her to hear that he really thought of her as a friend. Given the infrequency of their visits, she hadn’t been sure what he thought of her, but she was glad to hear they were on the same page—mostly. He still had no idea Marinette was _actually_ his best friend and partner, so they would never be on _quite_ the same page.

He stood up and offered a hand to her. “Shall we?”

Smiling, she took it. “Let’s do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I outlined the whole story this week, so I know exactly where it's going! There's this future Ladrien scene that got stuck in my mind and I had to write it before I could write this chapter. But the problem is now I have to wait so long before sharing it because so much has to happen before it!! Life is so hard. ;)


	6. Checking on his Purrincess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat visits Marinette, wanting to make sure she's doing okay. The friendship(?) is starting to grow.

The next night, Marinette was pleasantly surprised when a familiar black cat landed on her balcony.

“And how is my _Purrr_ -incess this evening?”

“I would say better now that you’re here, but that pun just ruined it.”

He brought his hand to his heart, as though mortally wounded. “ _Meow_ -ch, Princess.”

Marinette smirked.

Chat leaned against the railing. “But really, Princess, how are you doing?”

It was such a relief to be able to be honest with him in a way she couldn’t when they had talked on patrol. Other than the one _big_ one, she didn’t really have to keep any secrets from Chat.

“I’m still sad. I miss Luka. But I’ll get there.”

“I know you will. Take all the time you need.”

She offered him a grateful smile, much like the one she’d given Adrien the day before. It felt good to have two friends who supported her in such an easy manner.

“Thanks. So what brings you here tonight?”

“Just wanted to check in on my Princess. To make sure you weren’t too sad over Luka.”

Marinette’s smile widened. There was a reason this silly cat had become one of her closest friends. He might be completely ridiculous, but he had such a big heart.

“Thanks, Chat. I promise I’m really okay. But how are you doing?”

Chat shrugged. “Things are a little crazy at home. My father has been really busy lately, and his stress is getting to everyone. It’ll get better in a few weeks.”

“A few _weeks_?”

“Yeah. It’s fine, though. I’m pretty used to it.”

Marinette stood up. “I’m hungry. How do you feel about some pastries?”

“I couldn’t—”

“Besides, I have to tell you a funny story. You’ll wait for me to get the food, right?”

Although he still looked reluctant, he nodded.

Marinette thought about Chat’s words as she went down to get the food. She’d always known his home life wasn’t ideal, but sometimes she forgot just how bad it was. Chat tried to tell Ladybug as little as he could, not wanting her to worry, but Marinette was determined to learn more. If she couldn’t be his confidante as Ladybug, she’d be it in another way.

The way Chat’s face lit up when he saw the plate of pastries made her feel even better about her decision. She set it on the little table and sat down on her chair, gesturing for him to take the other one. Taking a pastry, he took the offered seat, looking like his normal confident self again.

“So let’s hear the story.”

“So as you know, things with Luka are over. But rather than letting me take some time to move on from that, my best friend Alya has decided that I need to find a new boyfriend right away. Like this weekend.” Marinette laughed. “She’s calling it Operation Get Marinette a Boyfriend. Can you believe that?”

Chat grinned. He loved hearing the story from Marinette. It was clear at lunch that she hadn’t been truly annoyed with her friend—just a bit exasperated—and the same feelings shone through now.

“Operation Get Marinette a Boyfriend,” he repeated. “It has a ring to it, but I like Operation Get Princess a Boyfriend better.”

“That would be a bit confusing since you’re the only one who calls me that.”

“Guess I need to help with the operation then.”

Laughing, Marinette shook her head. “I think I’ll pass on that offer. Alya is enough trouble without you sticking your paws into the mess.”

“You’re _meow-_ ssing out.”

“That was bad, Chat. Even for you.”

He gave her a half smile, acknowledging the truth of her words. “It was, wasn’t it?”

\----

The next night, Ladybug was supposed to be on patrol, but Marinette had been feeling too stressed. Tikki assured her that it was okay to take a night off, especially considering how relatively quiet Hawmoth had been of late.

Since Alya was determined to take her friend out on the town, Marinette needed to finish her current design so she would have something to wear. She had plenty of other things she should be working on instead, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to focus on any of them until she got the dress where she wanted it.

When Chat knocked on her window, Marinette was really tempted to tell him to go away. Instead, she sighed and gestured towards her skylight, telling him to come in. She’d left it open, liking the fresh air, and Chat easily dropped through it, landing on her bed in a crouch.

“And how’s my Princess doing tonight?”

Marinette looked at the unfinished dress and then up at the ceiling, muttering unintelligible words. Chat smiled and jumped down to stand next to her.

“That good?”

“This stupid dress isn’t working! I can’t figure out what’s wrong with it, but _something_ is off.”

To her surprise, Chat began to walk around the mannequin, carefully examining the dress.

“It’s the sleeves. They’re too much.”

Marinette’s mouth dropped open. Not only had he given her an opinion, but as she looked at the dress again, she realized he was _right_. Without a thought, Marinette flung her arms around Chat, hugging him tight.

“Thank you, thank you!”

“I’m _paw_ -sitively thrilled I could help.”

She pulled away and smiled up at him. “I’m so happy right now I’m not even going to be annoyed by that pun.”

Smirking, he gestured towards the dress. “Do you want some help making the changes?”

He just kept surprising her. Grateful for any assistance, she eagerly accepted his offer. Together they removed the sleeves. After sketching out a few options, they both agreed that a halter strap would be more fitting. Once that was on, they both stepped back to admire the dress.

“It’s perfect,” Marinette declared. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Of course you could have.” He took her hand and bowed, planting a quick kiss on her hand. “But I must bid you adieu now.”

When he reached the skylight, he looked back over his shoulder at her. “You’re going to look beautiful in it, Marinette.”

He left, leaving a suddenly flustered Marinette behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was a bit shorter than the others. Drama (*cough* Lila *cough*) is coming in the next one so prepare yourselves. Gonna get real.


	7. Don't Remind Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a certain liar is mentioned, bad memories resurface, and Marinette can't shake them.

Marinette’s good mood lasted well into the next morning. She told herself it was simply the happiness of finishing a new design, but deep down she had a feeling it was due to Chat more than anything. She wasn’t sure what exactly had caused him to start visiting her more frequently, but she wasn’t complaining. It was just so nice to get to spend more time with her friend. Not only that, but being able to see him as _Marinette_ was… amazing.

Her good mood would have likely lasted the entire day if Chloe hadn’t shared some disturbing news at lunch.

“I forgot to tell you this morning, Marinette. You won’t believe who I saw last night.”

Positive that it would be some celebrity or other—Chloe had only changed _so_ much—Marinette smiled. “Who did you see?”

“That awful Lila! Can you believe she had the nerve to show her face around here after what she did?”

At the name, everyone but Chloe had tensed up. The blonde girl didn’t notice and continued talking.

“She was at this dinner that Henri’s parents were throwing. You remember Henri, right? He’s that guy I told you about who wore the most _atrocious_ suit I have ever seen to my birthday party. Anyways, Lila was there and she had the _nerve_ to talk to me as though we’re friends. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.”

The two boys had recovered from their initial shock, and they watched Marinette and Alya warily. After all, it was their friendship that had suffered the most from Lila’s lies. It was clear from the way Alya wouldn’t make eye contact with any of them that she hadn’t forgotten that fact. For her part, Marinette was using every ounce of willpower not to let any of her feelings show. She made an effort _not_ to avoid meeting anyone’s eyes, but that only had her eyes shifting back and forth between each of her friends, a strained smile on her face.

“Oh, Chloe,” Adrien said, trying to distract her from the topic at hand, “You never finished that story you were telling me yesterday.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Adrikins, you are absolutely right.”

Chloe launched into her story, but the rest of the group barely registered she was talking. Adrien tried to pay attention, nodding in all the right places, but he was still watching Marinette and Alya. He didn’t know which of them would react first—or if they would simply move past the moment as though Chloe had never mentioned Lila.

Alya stood up abruptly. “I just realized I need to finish my homework for, er, my next class. Yeah. I’ll see you guys later.”

Chloe barely acknowledged her words before continuing with her story. After only a few seconds, Nino met Adrien’s eyes and gestured to where Alya had disappeared. He didn’t give any excuses before getting up and following her. Chloe kept talking while Marinette remained silent, staring straight ahead, no longer meeting anyone’s eyes.

Adrien did the only thing he could—he reached over and placed a hand on Marinette’s knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She startled, looking over at him.

He gave her a reassuring smile to go along with the squeeze, and she gave him a shaky smile in return.

“I’m okay,” she mouthed.

Adrien nodded and gave her knee one more squeeze before removing his hand. Chloe finally finished her story, and Adrien kept the conversation going until lunch was finally over. Chloe being Chloe still didn’t notice anything was wrong, but Adrien gave Marinette another reassuring smile before they parted ways.

Marinette walked to her class in a daze. Lila was _back_? After everything Lila had done to ruin Marinette’s life, and everything Marinette and her friends—well, some of them—had done to get rid of her, Marinette had hoped she would never see or hear of Lila ever again.

As she reached her class, Marinette tried to force all thoughts of Lila away in order to focus on her schoolwork. But when Alya walked into the classroom after Marinette, and Marinette caught sight of Alya’s red-rimmed eyes, all hopes of pushing Lila out of her mind were gone.

It was clear that Alya had been crying, and Marinette wished she could go comfort her friend. But she couldn’t. Marinette’s own wounds were still all too raw. She was ashamed of herself for it, but she purposefully avoided meeting Alya’s gaze for the rest of the class.

By the time school was finished for the day, Marinette was an emotional wreck. Too many bad memories were assaulting her mind, one after another, and she was too exhausted to fight them anymore. Avoiding all her friends, Marinette quickly left the school and made her way home. Once up in her room, Marinette climbed up into her bed and crawled under her covers.

Tikki nuzzled her cheek, whispering words of encouragement, as Marinette cried herself out.

Long after the tears had dried, Marinette lay in her bed, trying to find the motivation to get up and work on her homework. Tikki was trying to coax her to get moving when Marinette’s phone started ringing. Since Marinette had left the phone in her purse, which now lay discarded on the floor, Tikki flew down to check it for her.

“It’s Luka!”

Surprised at just how much she suddenly wanted to talk to him, Marinette asked Tikki to bring her the phone. Seeing that it was a Facetime request, Marinette hesitated before hitting accept.

“Hey Luka!” She tried to inject some cheer into her voice, but Luka’s instant frown told her just how ineffective her effort had been. Either that or he noticed her puffy eyes.

“Marinette? Are you okay?”

She gave him a half smile. ‘I’ve had better days.”

“Is this…” He paused, looking uncertain—something so uncharacteristic for Luka that it almost brought Marinette out of her funk. Almost.

He continued. “Is this about what I said?”

Marinette rushed to reassure him. “No, Luka. I promise it isn’t.”

“Are you sure? You were really upset.”

“I still am, Luka. But that’s not what this is about. And I really don’t have it in me to talk about that today. Can we table that discussion for another day?”

“Of course. So will you tell me what _is_ wrong?”

Marinette bit her lip.

“Please, Marinette. I know things aren’t the same between us, but you can always trust me. We promised we’d stay friends, remember?”

She nodded. “It’s Lila.”

Luka’s face darkened. He was normally so calm and composed, and this look of anger was not something Marinette often saw. But this was _Lila_ they were talking about, so she wasn’t altogether surprised by his reaction.

“She’s back?”

“Yes. I mean no. Not exactly. Chloe just saw her at some dinner or something this week, and Lila tried talking to her.”

“So you haven’t seen her?”

Marinette shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Marinette. Even without seeing her, I know this must bring back a lot of bad memories.”

That was an understatement. If it hadn’t been for Luka, Marinette wasn’t sure she would have survived that period of her life. It was a dark time, and Marinette had come so close to losing not only all her friends, but _herself_. Lila had nearly broken her.

 _But she hadn’t,_ Marinette reminded herself.

Back when things had been bad, Marinette had kept most of Lila’s actions to herself, hiding them from everyone, including Luka. But after _the_ incident, she’d come clean. She’d told Luka everything, and he’d stepped up—exactly as she had always expected he would. Between Luka and Kagami—who had turned out to be a better friend than Marinette would ever have guessed—Lila’s true nature had been exposed. But the aftermath had been messy, and it had taken months for things to settle. Months for Marinette and Alya to even be friends again.

“She can’t hurt you this time,” Luka said, bringing Marinette out of her thoughts. “Everyone knows how she really is, and she won’t be able to convince them of anything like she did last time.”

“I know.”

Marinette could hear her own lie in the words.

Luka heard it too and reassured her. “It’s not like last time. It won’t ever be like last time.”

Nodding, Marinette fidgeted with the blanket across her lap.

“You’ll tell me if she tries anything again though, won’t you?”

It should have been an easy answer. Marinette should have had no problem promising to tell him. But for some reason, she couldn’t.

“I’m sorry, Luka, but I need to go. This whole thing threw me off, and I’m behind on my homework for the night. But thank you for talking to me. And for calling. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, Marinette. No matter what, I’m always going to care about you. You know that, right?”

She gave him a smile that was only the slightest bit forced. “I know Luka. Same for me. Friends forever.”

Without waiting for any other response, Marinette hung up.

“You’ll tell him if things happen again, right?” Tikki asked, settling on Marinette’s knee.

“I don’t know, Tikki.”

Tikki flew up and nuzzled Marinette’s cheek again, wishing she could do more.

The next morning, the first text came. And Marinette didn’t tell Luka. Or anyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a weird couple of days so I don't really have anything to say other than thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the chapter!


	8. Let Me Tell You a Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette debates who to talk to about Lila. Chat ends up being a great listener...even if it's harder on him than either of them could have expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a long one and kind of angsty. Hopefully you all still enjoy it! I promise the next one is much more fun!
> 
> Sidenote: I know how the education system in France works. I'm choosing to ignore certain aspects of it because I want the aged up characters to still go to school together. So if that's been bothering you, here's the disclaimer. :) I figure if we're talking about superheroes, we're all capable of suspending reality.

Marinette put the text out of her mind. It was a stupid text anyway. It was petty and harmless, all things considered.

She knew it was from Lila. It had to be. It would be too much of a coincidence to be anyone else after Chloe saw Lila. Besides, it wasn’t like Marinette received insulting texts from unknown numbers regularly.

She deleted the text, blocked the number, and resolved to not think about it. It was Saturday, so she spent the morning finishing her homework and then started on her new sewing project, knowing it would keep her mind occupied. Unfortunately, it only worked until Marinette returned to her room after dinner. Her brain chose that moment to remind her of the text, and it unleashed a flood of memories that Marinette always tried to forget.

Calling Luka to talk about it again was tempting, but Marinette didn’t think she was up for that. If Luka hadn’t said what he had about Adrien, and they’d simply broken up as planned, Marinette wouldn’t have hesitated to call him. But he _had_ said those things, and Marinette still needed to work through her own feelings about it. Until then, Marinette didn’t think she was up for any more serious talks with him.

Although Tikki understood all that, she had still encouraged Marinette to tell him about the text. But once Marinette had firmly decided against telling him, Tikki tried another tactic.

“But why can’t you tell one of your other friends then? You could have texted any of them today to tell them.”

“You know why I couldn’t do that. Besides, it was just one text. I can handle it myself.”

Tikki sighed. “I _don’t_ know why you couldn’t. They would want to help you.”

Marinette laughed, but there was no humor behind it. “You didn’t see Alya’s reaction to Chloe telling us about just seeing Lila. Neither of us can talk about what happened. It’s still too hard.”

“What about Nino? Or Adrien?”

“Nino would tell Alya.”

“And Adrien?”

Sighing, Marinette dropped her head in her hands. “I’m not ready yet, Tikki. I know it isn’t fair to Adrien, but I need some more time. I’m not ready for any one-on-one talks with him.”

“What about Chat?”

There was no easy response to that. Marinette kept trying to think of reasons why she couldn’t talk to him about it, but her mind came up empty. They were friends, after all. If they weren’t, he wouldn’t have been stopping by so often. But just because he seemed like a viable option didn’t mean she necessarily _wanted_ to talk about it with him.

“He didn’t stop by last night. He probably won’t come tonight either. I know he’s not patrolling.”

“But if he does stop by, you’ll talk about it with him?”

Marinette could hear the worry in Tikki’s voice, so she did the only thing she could to help her little friend.

“Yes,” she promised. “I’ll tell him about her. But only if he stops by tonight.”

It was this decision that had her experiencing very mixed feelings when Chat Noir did in fact show up an hour later. When she heard the familiar knock, she sighed in resignation before motioning to him that she’d come out.

When she got up to the balcony, he gave her a big smile. “Evening, _Purr_ -incess.”

“Hi, Chat. What brings you by tonight?”

“This cat doesn’t need a reason to check on his princess.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Is that so?”

“We both know _mew_ like it better when I’m here.”

She couldn’t even argue because it was mostly true, but she _could_ roll her eyes at both the pun and the accompanying wink he shot her.

Walking over to one of the chairs, she sat down, letting out a loud sigh.

“Is something _paw-_ thering you Princess?”

“Maybe.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Any remaining doubts disappeared at the seriousness of his tone. Marinette knew he was the right person to talk to.

“Actually, I do. You see, there’s this girl I used to go to school with.”

\---

Adrien should have known this was about Lila. He mentally kicked himself for not stopping by last night. It had been clear that Marinette was still upset when he’d seen her rushing out of school at the end of the day yesterday. He’d had a really busy night, but he shouldn’t have let that stop him from coming over. His friend had needed him. At least he could help her now.

“Okay, tell me about this girl,” he said. He walked over and sat down on the second chair. Facing her, he waited expectantly.

“She’s _awful_. Like I try to give people the benefit of the doubt most the time, but there’s just nothing good about her. You actually know her.”

“I do?”

She nodded. “Lila Rossi. She’s been akumatized multiple times.”

“Ah, yes. I remember her. She caused Ladybug and I quite a few problems.”

Marinette lifted her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.

“She caused a lot of problems for me too.”

Adrien wanted to hug her then, but he knew it wasn’t the right moment. She had more to say.

“She went to my school. And while everyone else—and I mean _everyone—_ liked her right away, there was just something off about her to me. And when she started telling her lies, I didn’t believe them even when everyone else did. Lila didn’t like that.”

“I imagine not.”

“Yeah. She ended up threatening me, saying that she would turn _everyone_ against me if I didn’t play nice with her and accept her lies. I told her that I had faith in my friends, but it turned out I was overly optimistic…”

“What happened?” Chat asked, his voice soft. He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear about it from Marinette.

“Like I said before, everyone else believed her lies.” She paused. “Well, I guess that’s not quite true. There was one other person who knew she was a liar.”

Adrien wondered if he was crossing a line here, letting her talk about him when she didn’t know it was him. But even if he was, he didn’t stop her.

“My friend, Adrien,” she explained. “He didn’t fall for her lies either. I was _so_ glad that it wasn’t just me. It made Lila’s threats easier to take. At least I could count on Adrien. But, well, that didn’t really work out in the end.”

Chat shifted uncomfortably.

“I wanted to do more to call out her lies—to prove to everyone else she was lying. But he stopped me. He said… he said that as long as _we_ knew she was lying, it didn’t really matter. I knew it wasn’t that simple, but I agreed. I could be a better person if Adrien wanted me to be. I think his thought was that her lies weren’t hurting anyone, so it wasn’t a big deal. Except they _were_ hurting someone.”

Marinette took a deep breath and quickly brushed away the tears on her cheeks before hugging her knees tight again. Seeing that broke a little something in Adrien, but he remained silent.

“She tormented me for _months_. No one believed me, and on the few times I just couldn’t take it anymore, all my friends would get mad at me for being so rude to _her_. Can you believe that? My best friend was especially defensive of her. She had this idea that I was rude to Lila because I was jealous of her, but it couldn’t have been further from the truth.”

She took another deep breath.

“During this time, I started dating Luka. He’s not in my class, so he didn’t know Lila. But I had become so paranoid about people not believing me that I didn’t tell him any of what was happening. I didn’t tell anyone. I thought about telling Adrien, but, well… I knew that was pointless.”

Adrien felt like he was going to be sick. He’d known some of this, but he’d never realized just how terrible of a part he’d played in it all. He had failed Marinette so badly.

“After a couple months, Lila finally did it. She broke me. She convinced Alya—my best friend—that I’d done something terrible. It doesn’t matter what it was. All that mattered was that Alya chose _Lila_. And so did everyone else. Lila had finally succeeded, and everyone had turned against me.”

“Even Adrien?” The words slipped out of Chat’s mouth without conscious thought.

Marinette laughed bitterly. “Honestly? Sometimes I think about what he did, and in some ways it was worse than everyone else. He _knew_ she was lying, and he let it happen. He let all my friends turn against me and he did absolutely nothing.”

Another swipe of her wet cheeks.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever admitted that to myself. Just how much he let me down.”

“I’m sorry.”

Marinette shook her head, brushing off his words. “It’s not your fault. And it was a long time ago. Anyways. After she broke me, I finally told Luka the truth. I told him everything that had been happening and how none of my friends cared about me anymore.”

“I’m glad you had him.”

Marinette smiled. “Me too. He was my _anchor_ , Chat. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without him. And after telling him, it was like the floodgates had opened. I told my other friend, Kagami. She wasn’t in my class and hadn’t fallen under Lila’s spell. Between her and Luka, we came up with a plan to finally show everyone who she truly was. She was dating Adrien at the time, so she looped him in too, but—”

“Too little, too late.”

Frowning, Marinette considered. “I guess you could say that. I don’t need to get into the details, but we did it. We showed everyone the truth about her. She ended up moving back to Italy afterwards.”

“You said this happened a long time ago. Why is it bothering you tonight?”

He already knew the answer, but he needed her to keep talking. He needed more time to come to grips with everything he’d just heard. To come to grips with how _terrible_ of a friend he’d been.

“Chloe—Queen Bee—mentioned yesterday that she saw Lila earlier this week. I hadn’t even realized she was back in Paris.”

“And it brought all the memories back?”

Marinette nodded. “That and…”

She trailed off, and it was clear that she wasn’t sure she wanted to finish whatever it was she’d been about to say.

“And what?” he prompted, wanting her to finish.

“It’s silly.”

“Tell me anyways.”

“I got this text this morning. I don’t even remember exactly what it said, but it wasn’t exactly… flattering.”

Adrien’s fists clenched. “And it was from Lila?”

Shrugging her shoulders, Marinette let out another sigh. “It was an unknown number, but who else could it be?”

“What did you do?”

“I blocked the number and deleted it. I really don’t need that drama in my life again.”

“Good. I’m sorry you had to deal with that, Princess. All of it.”

Finally releasing her legs to shift into a more casual position, Marinette shrugged her shoulders again. “It is what it is. I’ve moved past it all. Sometimes the memories just come back and are a little too much.”

“That’s understandable. What about your friends? Did you forgive them? Like Alya. And Adrien.”

Marinette bit her lip. “I did. It took Alya and I some time to work things out. She’d broken my trust—completely—and that wasn’t an easy thing to get over. But we managed to work through it and fix things. She’s my best friend.”

“What about your other friends? Like Adrien?”

He was lucky she didn’t read into just how much he clearly wanted to hear about her friendship with Adrien.

She let out a soft laugh. “It’s funny. He hurt me just as much as Alya, but we didn’t have to work through anything. He never understood that he’d hurt me, and I never told him.”

“But you forgave him?”

“I did. After losing nearly all my friends, I’d realized something. If a friend is worth having, they’re worth fighting for. I wanted to be friends with Adrien, so I fought through it.”

Adrien’s voice was noticeably shaky when he posed his next question. “Do you regret it? Fighting for the friendship alone? Fighting for a friend who hadn’t fought for you?”

“Honestly, Chat, I don’t regret it. He’s never given me a reason to. Adrien’s one of my closest friends, and I’m grateful to have him in my life.”

Chat stood up. “I’m glad you were able to work things out. With all your friends.”

“Do you need to leave?”

“Yeah, sorry. It’s my res- _paw-_ nsibility to keep an eye on Paris. Can’t let a _purr-_ etty face distract me for too long.”

Marinette stood up too. “I just realized—you didn’t say a single pun during that whole conversation. Are you feeling okay tonight, Chat?”

“Never better, _Purr-_ incess,” he lied. “Thanks for trusting me with your story.”

“Thanks for listening.”

He moved to the ledge, preparing to take off, when she spoke again.

“Chat?”

“Yes, Princess?”

“I’m glad you’re my friend now, too.”

That was it. Adrien lost his remaining control over his emotions, and he barely managed to get out three words before he left.

“Me too, Princess.”


End file.
